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This paper discusses the effects of economic liberalisation in the Philippines, particularly during the crisis period (1997-1999) on women in the informal sector. The paper looks at studies made on the gender dimensions of the crisis and how women have coped in the informal sector. Government agencies which provide economic, social and institutional support to women in the informal sector include the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which is a government agency mandated to provide high quality technical education and skills development with programs specifically created for women in the informal sector. The author contends that education and training is essential for the poor to be able to participate in the labour market, but are educational and training programs reaching the poor? The paper concludes that the quality of training and teachers must be improved and the government must implement more innovative training approaches to reach out to women in urban poor communities.